


Caught red handed (rainbow challange)

by QueenNutHouse



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, M/M, Mystery, Protective Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26798839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenNutHouse/pseuds/QueenNutHouse
Summary: Rubia root, red cloaks for the knights and a mystery..
Relationships: Gaius & Gwen (Merlin), Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Gwaine & Lancelot (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin), Lancelot (Merlin)/Original Character(s), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Caught red handed (rainbow challange)

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos is always nice, comments always needed.

The day started quiet.  
The sun streamed past the giant trunk-like pillars and through the large windows of the great hall; the gentle play of the light cast through the stained glass, creating a shaded garden of stone multicoloured as a rainbow upon the floor, dust angels floated on the subtle breeze of air dancing around the room casted in colour that held a magical quality.  
Only the noise of Talia's breathing could be heard as she concentrated with the task in hand spreading the sticky resin of pine sap upon the arrow shaft, her fingers twitched as she binded the fletching of feathers to the arrow, the peace was broken by the creak of opening doors.  
Talia glanced over through half-lidded eyelashes towards the approaching figure.  
"Do you know how to get Rubia out of the skin?"  
Talia sighed before placing down the fresh fletched shaft as she sat on the round table, her legs crossed as feathers fluttered around her, shafts rolled away rattling on to the stone slab floor and glue littered the round table around her.  
She glanced up once again only to find Merlin, who stood by the door.  
She studied the nervous-looking warlock as he fidgeted with his shirt sleeves, his eyes not meeting her own as though hiding a secret.  
It was hard to believe this warlock was older than her at times.  
"Rubia as in Rubia tinctorum, the madder dye?" She asked, head tilted slightly to the side, watching him nod as he entered the chambers, approaching the round table.  
"Yeah, that one, the one that dyes the knights’ cloaks red?" He replied hesitantly.  
"Yes, I do and why?" Talia asked suspiciously, staring at the young man whose fidgetiness brought her suspiciousness up even more.  
"N-no reason. Gaius wanted to know. So...how?"  
"Calcium carbonate, basically crushed seashells. And a soap base. Try mixing olive oil and potash," she answered, frowning as he edged towards the door.  
"Thanks," he grinned. And quick as a whip, he was gone.  
Talia watched the young warlock leave, piquing her interest as she began gathering her supplies together.  
Her mind wandered to just why Gaius wanted to know about dye removal upon the skin.  
Tracking down the said warlock was not easy- it seemed much to her curiosity finding him was nearly impossible, yet prince Arthur was the one to find her, suspiciously enough, though it wasn't that surprising, considering the king and warlock were linked together at the hip more and more recently... or was that the lips?  
"Talia would you be up for a task, the winter cloaks for the knights need to be collected." He asked grinning as his fingers twitched as though keeping busy.  
She scowled, walking beside the future king away from Gaius's chambers much to her chagrin. "I thought Lancelot and Gwaine went this morning?" She inquired watching as Prince Arthur stopped to lean against the wall with overconfidence that didn't quite fit the mood.  
"They did, but had to...detour... to Ealdor," he continued unknowingly to him, Talia did notice the pause before the cover-up which in turn made her more curious as to what was really going on!  
Talia glowered before quickly covering her annoyance with a shrug, shaking her head but accepting the fib for now. "Sure, I'll grab Matthew and go get them," she agreed easily, giving nothing away before heading towards the stables.  
She had a mystery to solve and it irked her like an itch you could not quite reach, approaching the stables she found Matthew cleaning their saddles after explaining the predicament she had been placed in, Matthew readily agreed to join her on the well-established path six miles away at the edge of the forest.  
"I thought Lancelot and Gwaine went?" Matthew questioned as they rode together along the well-established trading route,  
She wasn't surprised by the smells.  
No king or lord would want their city smelling like ammonia that wafted on the air towards them,  
"He said they were detoured to Ealdor, yet Merlin is still at Camelot surely she would have gone as well to see Hunith", she spoke up glancing over her shoulder to Matthew who looked just as sceptical at this point.  
"Bull crap, something’s going on."  
"I was hoping you'd say that," grinned Talia glad to have him by her side.  
"So what are we going to do about it?" Matthew asked as the dyers came into view as they came to the top of the hill, the lush free-flowing grass a complete contrast to the smell of rotting plants and ammonia.  
"Find out where Lancelot and Gwaine have gotten to and just what's happened," she reasoned, shrugging as though it was the simplest answer in the world.

\-----------------------------------

Talia watched as Matthew loaded the winter cloaks on their spare horses.  
She looked at the master dyer glancing at his hands, which resembled rainbow splotches in various colours.  
"I don't know why them two knights didn't collect them," the confused master dyer confessed, it was this statement that caught her ear.  
Talia looked sharply at the man. "Excuse me?" She asked.  
"Well, after what that silly knight did, I'm not surprised," the master dyer continued as though muttering to himself.  
"By any chance was this 'silly' knight short dark-haired or lighter longer haired?"  
He looked over as though thinking it over. "Bit lighter, like the Tawney dye."  
Rolling her eyes, Talia looked skyward wondering why her. "Okay, what did Gwaine do?" She exhaled heavily, shaking her head glancing over to Matthew who shrugged.  
"He was teasing that dark-haired knight..."  
"Lancelot?" She questioned  
"Aye, that one-" He nodded his head before continuing "-Something about some young lass he was with started with a T, anyway. He wasn't watching what he was doing, so he tripped, and, well...fell in the dye bath the madder root one" The master dyer shrugged, looking like it was an everyday occurrence.  
Talia stood for a moment, thinking over the man's words as it mentally sunk in before bursting out into laughter,  
Matthew looked over puzzled hearing Talia's happy laughter that sounded like tinkering bells upon the meadows before approaching the two.  
Once again the master dyer repeated what had happened as tears ran down Talia's cheeks laughing that hard Matthew trying not to join her thanked the master dyer before dragging the still laughing Talia to there awaiting horses.  
"So that's why Merlin asked about removing Rubia dye, that madder root right?" Matthew asked, laughing as they rode at a faster trot towards Camelot.  
"Oh yes it's part of the Rubia family, the root is the colour changer, now we need to catch a very red Gwaine!" She explained easily before their laughter echoed through the fields.  
\---------------------

As the two horses laden with winter cloaks followed their owners into Camelot, Talia handed her reins to the stable hand as Matthew began unburdening the horses of their prize.  
"So where do we start?" Matthew questioned, before watching as Talia joined him by the horses,  
Oh, how she envied the knights; she felt the soft thick warm wool between her fingers as the red stood out in such bright contrast to her skin.  
"Cloak envy?" Matthew asked, smiling softly as a sibling watching their younger.  
"Oh yes," she whispered in wonder it was an empty wish to have one for herself, a perfectly adequate blue cloak gracing her shoulders would just have to do.  
Shaking her head from the self-pity before turning to the servants approaching them. "Take them to the seamstress for their coat of arms before presenting to Prince Arthur," she ordered before pulling Matthew by his sleeve till he joined her side towards the castle.  
"We’ll start with Gaius, Merlin asked about dye removal, so it would be logical to start there, plus Arthur was quick to drag me away before." Her eyes gleamed with mischief as Matthew laughed cheekily, joining her side "The game is afoot." He grinned both looking particularly ominous together. 

\------------------------------

Getting to Gaius's chamber wasn't as much fun as they thought, in fact, it was downright annoying.  
It seemed almost every knight-- minus Lancelot and Gwaine that is-- wanted to speak to them. Talia smelt the proverbial rat and honest to the gods, she knew it was Arthur's doing.  
Elyan being a blacksmith wanted their input on arrowheads he was making, from the shape to the feathers which Talia was happy to help and felt much better after convincing Elyan she needed fifty new arrowheads much to his mortification.  
Leon needed help with locating the next best hunt as though he was a squire, not a knight which irked Talia something mad!  
Though getting him to agree to a pheasant hunt was worth the look of worry on Leon's face...  
Percival wished to know the difference in bows, which to Talia was outright annoying in her eyes, all the time she had been in Camelot not once had the knight asked before, yet before Talia and Matthew, he asked like a child would a master Bowman.  
Talia stood there with kindness and compassion explaining in terms that would give Percival a headache for the next few weeks just how a bow is processed and made all five years worth of information crammed into ten minutes, before dragging a laughing Matthew down the hall.  
And then the ultimate challenge arrived,.  
Gaius himself.  
the old healer wanted to know who had taught Talia her history and knowledge on herbs and healing craft,  
After four hours of trying to get to the healer's chambers with being bombarded by the knights both the young friends had enough.  
"that's it!" She growled using what Matthew called 'the voice' which could scare the living daylights out of a dragon, let alone the old healer..and trust me he had seen it before!  
Matthew stood smugly leaning against the wall watching Talia roast the old man "Where in the all the deities name is Gwaine and Lancelot and don't lie Gaius or so help me I'll use you as my next target at practice! The master dyer snitched, I know what happened so either show me or I'll bloody get my longbow!!" She growled out each word punctuated by a poke in the older man's chest, Matthew watched as Gauis resembled a fish out of the water before heaving a sigh for the gods themselves,  
"Fine, come on" he groaned once again though this time out of relief Matthew thought as he glanced to a smug-looking frustrated Talia.  
Taking the two to the healing chambers gaius stopped "just...be nice" he advised before opening the door as slowly as possible as though to bind his time.  
Talia stood leaning against the door frame outright laughing as Matthew doubled over hooting like an owl "wow talk about Caught red-handed" Matthew laughed as he grasped Talia to hold himself up, Talia gripping Matthew's sleeve catching her breath wiping the tears from her eyes grinning looking at the culprits before them.  
for before their eyes stood Gwaine in Gaius's chambers bright red from the tips of his hair down to his toes only in his breeches standing in a wooden bathtub looking sheepish, Lancelot and Merlin stood with sea sponges covered up to their elbows with soap suds and crushed seashell,  
whilst Arthur sat on a chair leaning on the table crushing seashell with postal and mortar looking very mortified and annoyed at being caught and the lack of sympathy in the two.  
"Well, isn't this interesting, who's explaining this fascinating scene" Talia grinned smugly arms crossed looking at the three.

**Author's Note:**

> Rubia root is part of the madder dyes which create the red in the knights cloaks,  
> Yes potash and sea shells mixed was an old remedy for removing the dyes from the hands.


End file.
